May says Brexit extension will not remove chance of no-deal

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday any extension to the Brexit negotiating two-year period would not take the option of Britain leaving without a deal off the table, instead it would create a “much sharper cliff edge”.

“The House (of Commons, lower house of parliament) should be clear that a short extension, not beyond the end of June, would almost certainly have to be a one-off ... so it would create a much sharper cliff edge in a few months’ time,” she told parliament.

“An extension cannot take no-deal off the table. The only way to do that is to revoke Article 50, which I shall not do, or agree a deal.”

Reporting by William James, writing by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison